Silence is the first thing after hate that is dangerous…silence is not the answer, hate is not the answer.
Holocaust survivor
There is one form of racism that stands out a lot in Finland and elsewhere: silence. Silence, if anything, is a political statement.
Those who answer with silence are not only ordinary citizens but politicians, policy-makers, and other public servants. Even if their silence aims to deny and keep matters as they are, their hesitance reveals an ugly truth.
That ugly truth is inaction and the conscious or unconscious wish for racism and inequality to continue being part of our society’s DNA.
Martin Luther King Jr (1929-68) hit it right on the nail: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
If you want to challenge racism in Finland, ask for a response. Tell the person that it is important because our first and foremost reaction to racism must be a reaction.